SwanQueen 100
by KyaniteD
Summary: A collection of (mostly disconnected) 100 word drabbles around Swanqueen. Half-baked plot bunnies and finger exercises, all free for the taking if anyone wants to play with them.
1. Promotion

**Promotion**

* * *

.

"Sheriff Swan."

"Mayor Mills."

Regina nodded, accepting the offered chair. The table had been set as if for a special occasion, but all the holidays she could think of were either behind or ahead.

"What brings this about?"

Emma sat down and tugged a black box from the pocket of her tuxedo jacket.

"I want to propose... a promotion."

"Emma, you're the Sheriff, this is Storybrooke, I'm afraid you are already at the top of the ladder."

Opening the box, Emma presented the sparkling metal inside to the mayor.

"I was rather thinking of a promotion from girlfriend to wife."

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	2. True Love

**True Love**

* * *

.

Henry entered the house and found his mothers lounging on the couch, watching an old movie.

"Moms?"

"Hi kid!" Emma greeted him.

"Take off your shoes," Regina reminded him.

"It's Valentine's Day, aren't you supposed to be on a date or something?"

"Your mother doesn't celebrate Valentine's Day," Emma answered.

"Why?"

"She thinks handing out fake hearts only proves fake love."

"But you can't give real hearts!"

Regina smirked mischievously. "Oh, but you can."

"But only once," Emma pointed out helpfully.

"That's gross."

"I thought it was rather sweet," Emma smiled dreamily.

"What?" he asked.

"We celebrated Valentine's Day. _Once_."

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	3. Ropes

**Ropes**

* * *

.

For some time Emma had felt the thin tendrils winding around her wrists and ankles, slowly sneaking toward her heart.

She knew that if they reached their target, they would turn into firmly attached strings, to be braided into ropes that would pull her into matters that were not her business.

She had to cut them while they were still fresh.

She could already feel the slight tug when she opened the doors to the mayor's office, the resistance when she unclipped the badge.

She saw the surprise, rather than triumph, on the mayor's face when she said: "I quit."

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	4. Roots

**Roots**

* * *

.

After Regina had taken in the damage to the apple tree, she knew she had to act quickly.

Some of the new shoots on the felled branch might grow roots if she cut them while they were still fresh.

Before she leaves with Henry to bid Emma farewell, she examines the gallery of potted trees and picks up one with two soft leaf buds at the top.

When they arrive at Emma's apartment, no one can say goodbye. Henry cries, and Regina shoves the plant into the blonde's arms.

"You can't leave, Miss Swan. It seems you have roots now."

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	5. Quick Study

**Quick Study**

* * *

.

"True love's kiss," Regina explains, "is not magic. It summons magic and concentrates it in a focal point."

Emma grins and kisses her, with an open mouth and a swirling tongue, and when she lets go, she asks: "Like this?"

Regina breathes desire as a warm flurry builds in her stomach. "N-not quite."

But Emma knows and asks again, "So an act of true love- ?"

"- a sacrifice, a powerful release of magic in a singular instant."

"Oh like-," and a hand moves down toward soft dark curls.

"-nnggh, sacrifice!"

"I'm crazy for you," Emma whispers, "I will sacrifice my sanity."

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	6. The Price of Love

**The Price of Love**

* * *

.

"I- I don't understand it." Snow shook her head in puzzlement, observing the scene taking place across the street.

"Love, like everything else in life, comes at a price," Gold's voice echoed behind her.

"Most pay with freedom, gladly, as freedom also means loneliness. Others trade riches, kingdoms, or-" he paused, then whispered, "family. But apparently, one of the hardest things to give up is revenge. Or - justice - , if you will," he said in a nonchalant tone.

She looked at a pregnant Emma being helped into the car by Regina and Henry.

"They made their choice. What will be yours?"

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	7. Balance

**Balance**

* * *

.

Emma's love was fearless, strong, resilient. It was unconditional, because Emma had nothing to lose. When she opened her heart she would do so without any fear of loss, without any hope for gain. Her love was hopeless, desperate, resigned.

Regina once loved with hope, she once loved with fear, and she once loved with indifference: She hoped for a future with Daniel, she feared to lose Henry, and when Emma finally kissed her, nothing else mattered.

When Regina kissed her back, Emma was afraid of not being enough, yet she hoped to be everything, because she had gained trust.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	8. Dawn

**Dawn**

* * *

 _._

 _"I just wanted to win. For once."_

Regina was a loser.

She lost her innocence to Snow White,  
her heart to Daniel, Daniel to Cora,  
her freedom to Leopold,  
her magic to the curse,  
the curse to Gold,  
Henry to Emma,

and then Emma to her darkness. _Almost_.

Emma, who stole apples, and glances and kisses and breaths, before stealing herself away in the mornings.  
Emma, who brought back tears, who brought back love, who brought back magic, and Henry, and light.

Emma, who clung to her as Regina lost herself in the Savior, savoring the one victory that mattered.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	9. Lost

**Lost**

* * *

.

Emma is a fantastic lay.

Regina enjoys their encounters, both the quick and quiet ones in between and the loud and lengthy all-nighters.

She hasn't had this much fun for as long as Emma had lived.

The way Emma predicts, adjusts and responds with ease betrays that she is no virgin to anything.

 _For as long as Emma had lived_ \- Regina refuses to think about it.

Until she catches a stray glance, void of anything.

 _"Practice makes perfect, my dear."_

For a moment, her resolve breaks, and a tear makes a hasty escape, mourning the innocence lost to them both.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	10. Power I

**Power I**

* * *

.

Life with her mother and her husband taught Regina an important lesson: No one ever remained indifferent to power. In the end, there were only two options - yield or wield. After indifference had destroyed her love and yield had destroyed her hope, she chose wield to save her life.

But while power was impartial, man was not.

A man seeking justice was brave, a man wielding knowledge was wise, and a man wielding power without compromise was unfaltering.

A woman seeking justice was obsessed, a woman wielding knowledge was a witch, and a woman wielding power without compromise was evil.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	11. Power II

**Power II**

* * *

.

Regina was to be regent until Snow White became of age and was ready to take her seat on the throne.

She tried to employ Cora's methods to breed some sense of responsibility and ambition into the girl. But she relented when it was obvious that the girl would never show interest beyond that in pretty flowers, pretty birds and pretty dresses, without ill will toward anyone or anything, just being light and fair and free.

Snow did not yield to power, nor was she indifferent to it. She wielded her own kind, it just wasn't that of a sovereign.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	12. Power III

**Power III**

* * *

.

Regina disapproved, but did not interfere, when Snow married a shepherd, who was equally ill-equipped and unsuitable for the throne as his wife.

Regina's savior, her soulmate, the kindred spirit who would ease her worries, arrived in the form of their newborn child.

The moment she laid eyes on Emma, she recognized an old soul, recognized the fire burning in dragon-green eyes.

She knew this would be the one with the heart to love those who needed to be loved, the power to fight those who needed to be fought, and the wisdom to know one kind from the other.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	13. Vengeance

**Vengeance**

* * *

.

Regina despised the swan.  
The lone bird on the duck pond always seemed to warn her prey of her presence.

Henry adored the swan.  
Every day he went to the pond to feed it from his hand.

One day, after Henry had left some crumbs in the snow, she took aim. As the bolt softly clicked into place, the swan again started its clamoring, only this time it was futile, as the white bird itself was the target.

When she released the bow, the bird waddled aside and with horror she saw Henry returning, running into the missile's deadly trajectory.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	14. Deliverance

**Deliverance**

* * *

.

For all intents and purposes, Emma died in a barn the night she delivered a boy, uttering a curse and a plea. Under glittering dust, both became true, one paying for the other.

Queen Regina had been left barren by her late husband, and that night, like so many moonless nights before, she wished for an heir, a promise on her lips.

Her wish was granted, the promise a debt, when Emma breathed her last word and Henry awoke in a castle.

That morning, staring out the window while cradling the infant, Regina noticed a new swan circling the pond.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	15. Penance

**Penance**

* * *

.

After Henry died, Regina visited the duck pond every day, sitting down where Henry used to feed the lonely swan.

The bird was always watching her, but only when her tears started falling, it cautiously approached. She had heard it was cursed and indeed she could see the unnatural sad, green eyes.

They mourned together and grew fond of the other who obviously had loved Henry to equal depths.

One morning, overwhelmed by her own grief and sympathy, Regina kissed the bird's crown.

 _-o-o-_

'Despair killed the Queen', they whispered, but a white and a pale gray swan no longer cared.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	16. Admission

**Admission**

* * *

.

Emma knows.

She's seen children like Regina. She knows Storybrooke is her refuge, her doll house, her own little world.  
Henry is the puppy being sat down in the middle of it, with a ribbon and a silly hat, expected to play its role and forcefully kept in place when it tries to escape.

Emma has been that lonely child, only her puppy was a worn teddy bear that never tried to escape.  
She knows what it's like to protect your own small world, yet yearn for a friend.

She takes Henry home to Regina, smiles shyly and says: "Hi."

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	17. Under the Radar

**Under the Radar**

* * *

.

Taking a seat next to Killian, Emma looks across the table at Regina and Robin. She catches Regina's eyes and smiles, and it's not perfect, but she enjoys their public double dates.

The men grin at each other and she wonders once more how nobody even suspects. Stereotypes are a funny thing. They're so ingrained into people that they're adamantly trying to make their observations match their indoctrination.

It's the only explanation she has for people still thinking that two men who spent all their lives surrounded by _jolly_ and _merry_ men would date two women who share a son.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	18. Dovetail

**Dovetail**

* * *

.

Emma watches Regina and Henry making cupcakes, singing along to the radio and bumping their hips together during the refrain.

Tears are pricking her eyes, and she doesn't want to be difficult, so she turns away, but Regina catches her. "What's wrong?"

"You're so good at this. I feel... inadequate."

"Good at what?"

"Family. Keeping together - yourself, us, this family. _Loving_. Caring."

Regina smiles indulgently and kisses Emma's lips.

"I want- _need_ \- this, Emma. I want to love and care, but I need someone to love and care for. Let me do this, let me take care of my family."

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	19. Theft

**Theft**

* * *

.

Regina found the box in the Charming residence, three months after Emma had left Storybrooke to its happy endings and two months after Robin had left Regina to her grief.

Holding the box she knew immediately what it was, and when she opened it and saw that it contained indeed Emma's heart, she knew Emma had lied when she had allegedly left to find her own happy ending.

She turned the lid and found a note: "Home is where the heart is."

 _-o-o-_

When she returned to the mansion, she opened the box and placed her own heart next to Emma's.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	20. House Rules

**House Rules**

* * *

.

"Oh my God, Regina, do something! Rescue me!"

"Miss Swan, you're the savior, save yourself?"

"Goddammit, Regina!"

"They're not poisonous, Emma."

"They're spiders!"

"Like I said, you're the savior."

"You're the one with magic!"

"So are you. Besides, you _know_ \- ."

"That's only because my magic is still a bit... unrefined."

"You mean destructive."

"C'mon, can't you just, dunno, poof them away?"

"Very well."

When they descend the stairs, Henry is waiting, holding out two jars labeled "Swearing" and "Magic".

"You _know_ the house rules," he grins.

Regina looks pointedly at Emma, and Emma sighs, pulling two bills from her pocket.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


	21. Blind

**Blind**

* * *

.

Blinded by love and hate she had lost everything, her lover, her father, her son, her home, her heart, her happiness.

She wanted to see how she'd lose her life.

But the mirror needed magic, and magic needed emotion, and with everything lost, she was empty. All that remained was the anger at herself, and with the throw of an apple her reflection shattered into thousand tiny pieces.

Some shards pierced her eyes and came to life, angrily burning the light from them, but with the darkness came clarity and what she saw was not her death but her savior.

.

* * *

 _~SQ~_

 _._


End file.
